Hundreds march against Virgin Care takeover

Hundreds of campaigners have been marching against the proposed Virgin Care takeover of local health services across Bath & North East Somerset.

They claim the NHS is being "sold off" and see Virgin Care's bid as a step towards privatisation. They're marching through Bath today in a bid to raise awareness of the upcoming change to the local health care provider.

A final decision on who will run the region's community care services will be made at the beginning of November, although Virgin are favourites to take on the £700 million contract.

Currently, community care in Bath & North East Somerset is run by non-for profit company Sirona. Campaigner, Pam Richards, says she's concerned that if Virgin Care take control, health decisions will be "based around profits" instead of the quality of care.

The council and the Clinical Commissioning Group say Virgin's proposed model is based upon two years of expert consultation: